UAE General Information

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The United Arab Emirates
(UAE) is a federation of seven Emirates located in the Arabian Gulf: Abu
Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al Quwain, Ras Al-Khaimah and Fujairah.
Abu Dhabi City is the federal capital. Each emirate has contributed to the
nation's progress and exciting opportunities for investors are to be found
in all parts of the country.
Sharing a border with Saudi Arabia and Oman, the UAE has a land mass of
83,600 square kilometers and a total population now estimated at 4.1 million.
The urban population is 75% of the total as four fifths of the territory
is desert.
The UAE's foreign population is around 80 percent.
According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) 2005 report, the UAE has the world's fifth largest proven
reserves of crude oil (9 percent of total world reserves), and fourth largest
reserves of natural gas (5 percent of the world total). These reserves are
expected to last for more than 100 years at current production rate.

Emeirate

Area

Population (2006)

GDP as a percentage of UAE GDP (2006)

Abu Dhabi

67,340 km2

1,800,000

60%

Dubai

4,114 km2

1,422,000

28%

Sharjah

2,590 km2

656,941

7.2%

Ras al-Khaimah

2,478 km2

191,753

1.9%

Fujairah

1,160 km2

130,000

1.2%

Umm al-Quwain

750 km2

62,000

0.4%

Ajman

259 km2

235,000

1.3%

The UAE economy is booming and the opportunities to do business in the country
are limitless. The UAE's currency, the dirham, is secure and freely convertible;
there are no restrictions on profit transfer or capital repatriation; import
duties are low (around 5 per cent for virtually all goods) and labor costs
are competitive; corporate tax and personal taxes are nil and 61 double
taxation agreements and 32 bilateral investment treaties are in place. In
addition, the financial risk is minimal (Moody's credit rating Aa3). These
factors, combined with a strategic, accessible location for major regional
markets, an excellent reliable infrastructure and an extremely pleasant,
stable and safe working environment bode well for investment.
Not surprisingly therefore, the UAE ranks high in the list of the Middle
Eastern and Gulf Cooperation Countries(GCC) deemed to be the most attractive to direct foreign
investments (FDI), securing 60 per cent of FDI flows to the region during
2006.
Finally, the UAE is a contracting party to the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) since 1994 and a member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO) since 1996. It is also a member of the Greater Arab Free-Trade Area
(GAFTA) in which all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states participate.
The UAE is in the process of negotiating free trade agreements with the
USA and has embarked on negotiations, either individually or with the GCC,
on several regional trade agreements.
Although Arabic is the official language, English is widely used in business
transactions.